Observations of a Stay at Home Mom

It's been a busy couple of weeks full of airplanes, turkey, chaos and shopping. The spinning of my head is finally slowing down and I'm feeling on top of my to do lists. We had a great Thanksgiving and are ready for the holiday season to hit us full force! So, here I am, blogging about some stuff that's been on my mind.

As a teacher, I was trained to observe. Observe students' behavior, observe other teachers' techniques, observe my own use of language and so much more. I've been observing for so many years it is really just a part of who I am now. So, you can imagine I've been making some interesting observations over the last year in my new role as mom. Thought I'd share some:

• Stay-at-home moms like to shop (groceries, errands, etc.) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. We like spending the weekends with our families and we know Mondays are busy at the stores because of all the people who put off their to-do-lists on the weekend. We also are exhausted by Friday and don't want to think about entertaining a baby in a shopping cart. 

• We are also the ones who take forever at the checkout counter. We are searching through our coupons and organizing our bags so the perishables are all together. You see, when you live in a condo with no attached garage, you have to be strategic about which grocery bags you can carry inside with your very heavy baby and which can stay in your car until your husband comes home to bring the rest in.

• Parents are the only ones who routinely stop at crosswalks. The city of Chicago has even put up signs at crosswalks reminding drivers to stop for pedestrians, but most don't. I've noticed most of the time, when I'm walking with Cam, it's the moms and dads who stop to let us cross.

• Moms complain together and brag together. Your kid was up all night screaming? Well mine was a monster yesterday with a fever. Your kid can stand on one foot and recite the alphabet backward? Well mine can drink from his sippy cup while standing on his head.

• Business men do not want to help you on an airplane. Even when you're trying to calm a crying baby while putting together a bottle and juggling all the toys your child has thrown from the diaper bag. No, they'd rather put in their earplugs and pretend you're not there. 

• Moms, however, will entertain your baby by cooing and laughing with them and tell you how great your kid did on the flight despite him squealing and yelling loudly for the majority of the time. 

• Moms use the daycare at the gym for relaxing time, not workout time. Some drop their kids off, go to the locker room and sit in the comfy lounge with their Kindle. (I haven't done this yet, but it seems like a great idea and the lady at my gym really looked refreshed when she went to pick up her kids!)

I love being part of this very special group of people. There's a lot to observe, and I can only imagine what others have noticed about me! Here are some pictures of the Mister from the past few days...